Updating twice in one week? Me? I know. It'll likely never happen again.
Thanks again to Citikitti!
~*~
Chapter 7 – Late for a Very Important Date
Bella
I awoke in a very comfortable bed, wrapped in the arms of a very comfortable man. There was something annoying poking into my forehead. I kept swatting at it groggily, afraid that if I moved I would wake Edward.
"Whatcha doin'?" he mumbled.
"Dunno, something on my head," I rasped back.
He reached up a hand, his long fingers capturing the annoying article and placing it on my shoulder. I scrunched up my eyes and moved my face back to see what it was. Ah – condom wrapper. It fell on the bed as I disentangled myself from Edward and sat up.
"Where you going?" he whined.
"Bathroom. No idea how I have any fluids left in my body, but I gotta pee."
Edward laughed into his pillow. Another empty condom wrapper slid off his side of the mattress and onto the floor. They were everywhere. We had been messy.
"Mmm... nice view," I heard his voice say as I walked towards the ensuite bathroom. Perv.
There was a knock on the door as I was washing my hands. I towelled them dry and opened the door a crack. "May I help you?" I teased Edward through the small opening.
He pushed his way into the room and planted his lips on mine.
"Ew... but we both have morning breath," I protested halfheartedly. Edward just laughed and picked me up, setting my bare ass on the cold countertop.
I shrieked.
"Shit, sorry!" He placed his hands under my ass cheeks.
"Should we maybe take this back to where the condoms are, Dr. Cullen?"
"That would be a very good idea, Dr. Swan."
He carried me into his bedroom and tossed me onto the bed. I rolled over on my side, giggling, and reached for him. And that's when I saw the clock. Fuck. We'd been going at it all night and had slept all day. It was nearly 2PM.
I jumped up and stumbled off the bed. "Fuck! Look at the time!"
"So?"
"The fucking rehearsal!"
Realisation dawned slowly on his face. "Shower!" he exclaimed, and pulled me to the bathroom.
My mind began wandering as I watched him bend over and adjust the water temperature for our shower. "No time for love, Doctor Jones," I muttered to myself.
He turned around with his brow furrowed. "Didn't Short Round say that in Temple of Doom?"
Oh God, I think I might love this man.
~*~
We burst through the doors of the hotel ballroom at a quarter past three. We were forty-five minutes late.
Alice caught sight of us first. She ran in our direction, her short little legs moving so comically fast that I had to stifle a laugh.
"Oh my God! There you are! I was so worried! I left messages!"
"Jasper's got my phone..." But Alice wasn't paying me the least bit of attention; she was busy giving her brother the stink eye.
"I left messages," she repeated venomously.
"My phone died," Edward croaked. He looked a little frightened under the heat of her angry glare.
"Since when do you let your phone die?"
He shrugged his shoulders and took a step backwards, unconsciously angling himself behind my body. He was feeding me to the sharks.
"God, you reek," Alice accused him. "How much did you have to drink last night?"
"I had a shower..." Edward began in a meek voice, but she ignored him and turned her glower in my direction.
"Strippers Bella, really?"
I shrugged and wandered away, leaving Edward to fend for himself. That little shark was all his.
I headed in Jasper's direction, though I have no idea why, as he had the smuggest of smug bastard grins decorating his pasty mug and was sure to be as annoying as his fiancée was belligerent.
"So..." he began, waggling his eyebrows. "What did your activities entail last night... and dare I say this morning as well, Ms. Swan?"
I heaved a dramatic sigh and he gave me his "out with it" look.
"Well, there was the heavy drinking and strippers, as you know," I said slowly. He looked annoyed. Jasper hated waiting for dirt; he was such a gossipy old lady. "And then... well... sex. Lots of that." I looked around to make sure no one was in earshot before whispering, "and I may or may not have performed a striptease to Lola."
Jasper broke up laughing and smacked me hard on the ass.
"Ow!" I jumped as I yelped, probably drawing a lot of unwanted attention to myself. I didn't dare glance around to check. "Be gentle. My nether regions are a little sore."
He was laughing so hard that he actually snorted. "Oh, Ding Dong, The Kinks? That's classy. Did you trip on your panties or get your bra caught around your neck?"
"No, I did not!" I punctuated my denial with a cheap shot to Jasper's right kidney.
"Ah!" he squeaked.
"Oh, quit your whining, you've got another one."
"One that you might someday need and I won't be able to give it to you because of the horrible damage you've inflicted on my spare."
"In what universe would your kidney fit into me?" I scoffed.
"I dunno, why don't you go ask Edward? He seems to know what fits into you."
My second punch to Jasper's kidney shut him up mid-guffaw.
"Fuck, Bella! All the sarcophagi lifting has made you strong. I think my kidney is bleeding."
"Good. Asshole."
He grinned widely. "I love you."
"Love you too."
A man in a navy blue suit called us to order so we could begin the rehearsal. I grasped Jasper's hand and we went to stand up front.
~*~
The rehearsal went off without a hitch, other than a few well-placed comments by Emmett about Alice's diminutive size and Jasper's virility. He was quickly shut up by a single look from scary Esme.
Rosalie and the Blondsis – Tanya, Irina and Kate – were standing up with Alice, with myself, Edward, Emmett and three of mine and Jasper's friends from college on Jasper's side. I was the odd woman out, as usual.
When we'd finished practising the ceremony and readings, Rosalie and I stepped forward to walk down the aisle behind the soon-to-be Whitlocks. Next in line were Edward and Tanya; I cringed internally as she shot me a smug look and grinned over at him.
Alice turned around. "No, no! Rose, Bella, go back up. That's not right." She left Jasper in the aisle and came towards us. "We have an extra guy for a reason." She pulled Edward over and linked our arms. "Jasper's orders," she whispered in my ear. She gave us a forceful shove that made me stumble on the steps.
Edward held me up, chuckling. "Told you she was freakishly strong."
We caught up with Jasper on our walk down the aisle; Alice was still organising the other couples. He made a silly face at me and I stomped on his foot.
Edward and I were still laughing when we reached the end, turning around to see Emmett and Rosalie and Peter and Tanya closing the distance between us. Tanya was giving me a death glare.
Her problem with me very obviously had something to do with Edward – but I had no idea what. She had been introduced to me as a cousin, so it couldn't be that she had any interest in him or was his ex or anything. I was very confused and becoming increasingly paranoid. Maybe it didn't have anything to do with Edward; maybe I'd said or done something to offend her. Her treatment of me stirred up uncomfortable feelings that I couldn't quite place.
Rosalie saw the look that passed between Tanya and I. She rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly from side to side. She knew something, and I wanted to know what that something was.
~*~
I cornered her in the ladies room after we'd arrived at the restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. "All right, spill. What's Tanya's problem with me?"
She paused in her primping and eyed me in the mirror. "Haven't you guessed? She wants Edward. Has for years. And he, well, quite obviously has a thing for you."
"But aren't they cousins?" I could see my reflection's face screwed up in disgust.
Rosalie laughed. "They aren't literal cousins – the Cullens just refer to them as such because they've been close family friends for so long." She pulled a tube of gloss out of her bag. "And you'll notice that neither Tanya or Irina ever call themselves that," she added with a roll of her china blue eyes.
"Has anything ever... I guess it's not really any of my business." And I wasn't sure if I even wanted to know. In light of this new evidence, I realised that Tanya's reactions reminded me of Todd's wife, and that brought forth a wave of bad memories and feelings of self-recrimination and guilt.
"The way Edward has been mooning over you? It most certainly is your business. But no, I don't believe anything has ever happened. He's not the type to love and leave."
"But he knows?"
She threw back her head and laughed her tinkling laugh. "Oh, yes. Subtlety is not exactly Tanya's strong suit. She once 'lost' her bikini top when we were all vacationing in Hawaii – Edward handed it back to her without even so much as a glance at her very ample chest. She was seething about it for days; it was hilarious."
I smirked evilly, remembering Edward's very different reaction to seeing my chest the night before.
"It's kind of Alice's fault that she's targeting you, but she would have caught on sooner or later anyway. Especially after he carried you to his bed the other night. Subtlety is not Edward's strong suit either."
"What did Alice do?"
"When we were at All American Beef – I'm not sure where you were – she may have mentioned that Edward was falling head over heels for you, and that her and Jasper couldn't be more thrilled."
Falling head over heels? Was he? Was I?
"And why does Alice think that?"
"Because he told her, Bella. Seriously? Edward doesn't take his eyes off you. He absorbs your every word and action like a sponge. And that man pays no attention to women, not in that way, not ever. I thought he might be gay until I saw him watching you eat at Esme and Carlisle's. It was like you were taking your clothes off rather than nibbling on a piece of bread, the way he was staring."
I cleared my throat and averted my eyes. Hell, I was avoiding my own eyes in the mirror, and when you can't even look yourself in the eye, that's pretty bad.
"Anyway, ignore Tanya. Irina pulled that shit on me when I first started dating Emmett. I stood firm, and now she knows if she so much as looks at him the wrong way, I'll cut a bitch. She stays away."
Rosalie finished applying her lipgloss and tossed it into her purse. "He's yours for the taking, Bella. All you need to do is close your hands." She snapped her clutch shut with a smirk and sauntered out of the room, leaving me alone and feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelmed, did I say? All right, I was downright panicked.
Did I want this? The real question was, could I even have it? Or was I too neurotic to form a proper, healthy, adult relationship?
After several moments of indecisive and self-deprecating thought, there was a knock at the door.
Edward poked his head in when I didn't answer. "Bella? Anyone else in there?"
I shook my head and he came in the rest of the way. "Rose said you were in here. What's wrong?"
What's wrong? You told your sister that you're falling in love with me, and your "cousin" is making me feel like a dirty whore for being with you, just like my ex's wife once did. And I still want to jump on you and run my tongue all over your body. I am quite obviously disturbed, which you will come to realise sooner rather than later, seeing as you're a shrink.
But of course I didn't say any of that, instead I got my back up and went on the defensive. "Why didn't you tell me the reason Tanya is being so nasty to me?"
He looked taken aback. "What?"
"Don't play dumb. She's defending her territory."
"I'm hardly her --"
"Have the two of you ever fucked?" I asked harshly.
He looked like I'd slapped him. "No, of course not. Look – she lets me know that she's interested and I make it very clear that I do not return that interest. End of story. Nothing has or will ever happen. I don't understand why you're so angry with me."
"I'm sorry," I mumbled, my eyes fixed on the door over his shoulder. "We'd better get back out there."
He nodded and followed me out of the room.
I took my seat next to Jasper and Edward sat down stiffly beside me. Neither of us spoke or made eye contact throughout the meal. I kept my eyes on my plate until it was time for the speeches. Alice jumped up first.
"Jasper and I would like to thank you all for being here today. We're so glad to have all of our dearest family and friends in town to celebrate with us. Thanks to the boys – Peter, Alex and Dave – for flying in from out west, and our beloved cousins from Alaska for making it here as well.
"And Bella – there wouldn't have been a wedding at all had you not agreed to stand up with our Jasper. He warned me – 'Alice,' he said, 'I can't get married without my Ding Dong' – and here you are, supporting him as you always have. Over the last days I've certainly come to see why you are so special to him, and I can't wait to meet the rest of your family tomorrow!"
Wait, what? What rest of my family? Besides Jazz there was only Charlie and Renee... Oh no. Please no. I looked over at Jasper, but he was studiously ignoring me and listening as Alice continued to speak.
After she'd thanked Rosalie, her brothers and both sets of parents, she sat down and Carlisle rose from his seat.
I caught Jasper's eye. "My parents?" I mouthed. He nodded once, chewing his lip. I felt like I was going to cry. "Later," I whispered threateningly. He nodded once more and looked towards Carlisle.
After dessert was served and devoured, I pulled Jasper out on the balcony.
"They're coming?"
"Bella, of course they are. I couldn't get married and not invite your folks. Your parents are like my parents, remember?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because it would have scared you off, honey, you know that. And Bell, I need you. Just like Alice said, I couldn't get hitched without you." He had tears shining in his eyes. "I'm sorry for not telling you, but I need you, Bella."
I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my face against his chest. "How am I going to face them, Jazz?"
"Face them? Bella, they're your parents. And they're so excited to see you. You have no reason to be uncomfortable about it."
"Yes I do."
"You have to stop living with the fear that they're going to find out what happened. They can't see it spelled out magically across your forehead you know."
"What, 'I'm a home wrecking slut'? It sure feels like it."
"You are not." He pulled me back and leaned down to my level to look me in the eye. "Bella, you had no idea. You've got to stop feeling guilty. You trusted him and he hurt you. You did nothing wrong."
"I should've listened to you," I whispered. "I knew you would never steer me wrong, but I ignored you. And then you were the one who had to deal with the aftermath."
"Hey, that's all water under the bridge, okay? I certainly don't look at it that way, so you shouldn't either. Look forward, Ding Dong, not back."
I nodded my head and he pulled me into a tight hug, kissing my hair.
"And since we're being so open and honest with each other, I have one more confession."
When I glanced up at him he looked worried. "What now, Jazz?" I moaned.
"Um... your dad... he's bringing Jacob as his plus one."
"Jesus fucking Christ!"
"Sorry! Not my idea!" He held up his hands and waved them back and forth.
"That's just fucking perfect."
"Bella, just make it clear to the both of them that you're interested in Edward right from the get go, right? They'll back off."
I flinched. I didn't know if I wanted to go there, or if I even could any longer after the crap I'd just pulled in the ladies room.
"What now? Don't try and pretend you aren't, Bella. You may be able to lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me."
"Jazz, I can't talk about this right now, okay? I need to go; I'm fucking exhausted. And you – you have guests."
"Bell --" he began, but I cut him off.
"Rosalie and Emmett are heading back to the house; I'll go with them."
"But Edward --"
"Tell Edward that I'm upset about your scheming and worried about seeing Charlie and Renee. It's the truth anyway."
"Only not the whole truth," he sighed.
"I'll see you in the morning, Jazzy. Don't stay up too late. Come and find me if you can't sleep. We can snuggle and gorge ourselves on Milk Duds, just like old times."
I tried to make it seem convincing as I gave him one last smile before going to find Emmett and Rosalie.
All the way home in the Jeep, Emmett regaled his wife with tales of our strip club shenanigans and I forced myself to laugh along with them. But my mind was still back at the restaurant with Edward.
Would he be angry that I'd left without saying goodbye? It was such a bitchy thing to do -- I was behaving like some prickish guy after a one night stand. And the worst thing was, I really liked Edward. I wanted him with me right now, while I was quaking in fear at having to see my parents for the first time in five years.
I wanted him – and it scared the bejesus out of me.
~*~
Oops, apparently Jasper was right about Bella. Please let me know what you think!
